A Love More Precious Than Gold
by heavenangelgrl
Summary: Here it is, folks, the fic I've been working on for a while. I finished it, but it was too long to work for text. So I had to break it up and make it a quartet. Oh well, same thing. It's Mimato, Taiora, and Takari, enjoy!
1. A Love More Precious Than Gold 1

A Love More Precious Than Gold: Part 1  
  
A group of six teenagers stood by a white, wooden bench in the City Park. The sun was shining it's brightest that made the people outside sweat like crazy. Most of the little ones were complaining, but their guardians were all too hot to care. Four of the teenagers sat on the bench while the other two leaned against either sides of it. One of them constantly looked down at his watch. Finally, he spoke up. "Where is she? She's usually never late."  
  
At that time, the only girl in the group looked up at her wild haired brother. "Tai, calm down. I'm sure she has a good reason to be late." Tai glanced at Kari for a quick second. Then he turned his gaze back to staring towards the park roads. The other guy standing up turned towards him.  
  
"Tai, you shouldn't be talking. Every time we meet, you're late. That's how we all got used to this. And plus, it's been only forty-five minutes."  
  
Tai seemed surprised as he stared at the blonde. "It's been forty-five minutes already? What's taking her?"  
  
"Matt, it's only been thirty-five minutes. My computer's clock says so and I'm quite sure it's correct. Don't worry, Tai. There are two possibilities: A) Matt purposely stretched the truth, or B) His watch is incorrect." Izzy said, keeping his eyes on the computer screen, which distracted him from noticing Matt's glare. He was sitting between Joe and T.K. Kari's next to Joe by her brother's side of the bench. T.K.'s the exact opposite. They've been in a fight and officially broke up not long ago. They both still like each other, but they're also extremely stubborn, like their brothers.  
  
"Izzy, you better stay out of this," Matt said in a threatening tone. Then he turned back to Tai and realized that he's glaring at him with flames in his eyes. Then he seemed to have cooled off. "And plus, Tai. Even though it's been thirty-five minutes, I recall someone being two hours late before!" Their glares met and electricity seemed to have come out of them.  
  
"Matt just had to bring that up and start this again," Joe mumbled to Izzy. Izzy nodded in agreement even though he was completely spaced out. Matt and Tai're already in fighting positions. With their brother and sister behind them cheering them on. But the whole time, Kari and T.K. were just glaring at each other. They often compare their older brothers and show them off.  
  
"Matt? You are dead meat!" Tai shouted. Without another word, he lounged at Matt and the fight broke out. Before anyone can get severely hurt, another girl with short hair came running up the road.  
  
"Sorry I'm late!" She kept repeating as she ran. Everyone froze and stared at the girl's direction. Matt was strangling Tai and Tai was holding Matt by his shirt. They just froze for a while and then the girl came and broke them off.   
  
"What took you so long?" Tai asked Sora as he wiped the dirt off of his shirt.  
  
"I am so sorry! But I do have a surprise for you guys. Let's say it's a way to say sorry for being late. And plus, it was the reason I was late anyway." Sora explained, still trying to catch her breath from the long run.  
  
"Well? What is it? Tell us already!" Matt rushed. He really didn't have much patience for surprises. He really didn't like surprises ever since his parents' divorce.  
  
"Geez calm down already! It's coming. Can't you hear it?" Sora asked. They concentrated and finally heard a bell ringing. It's sound was really faint, but still able to hear.   
  
The next thing they heard was a girl continuously repeating, "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through." The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but the group couldn't quite put a finger on it. The sounds came from the road in which Sora came from and it's getting closer by the second.  
  
Just then, a girl on a bike came to view. She was pedaling pretty hard and her hair was blowing in the wind because of the speed. She quickly stopped in front of the teenagers and cause sand to blow all over the place which blurred everyone's version. When the sand finally settled, they could clearly see the girl.  
  
The girl had waist length chestnut hair which curled at the end. Two pieces of her hair framed her face. She wore a pair of tight, black capris suit for biking. Also, she wore a light pink belly button tank top that matched the shade of her sunglasses. She took off her sunglasses and showed her brown eyes. She leaned forward and placed her arms on the handlebars while balancing on her feet.   
  
Everyone was a little shocked at first. But then they recovered from the shock and recognized their old friend. T.K. and Kari jumped up from their seat and ran towards the girl. "Mimi!" They shouted in unison. When they realized this, they looked at each other for a quick second and looked away. Seeing this, Mimi looked at Sora to ask for information. Sora just mouthed the word fight and Mimi nodded understandingly.  
  
Everyone stood up and crowded around their old friend whom they shared many adventures with. Everyone except Matt, who's still recovering from shock. His eyes were widened and his mouth hung open. 'You don't like her anymore!' Matt kept reminding himself in his mind.  
  
After she said her greetings to everyone, she turned to Matt. She glanced at him and smiled, which pulled Matt back to earth. "You still haven't change a bit. Still the man?" Mimi said. She tried to sound as normal as possible, but inside, her heart was beating fast. She used to have a huge crush on him, but now she don't know. She had butterflies in her stomach, but it felt exciting to Mimi. 'This is just a feeling you get when you meet old friends. Chill out, Mimi. You haven't seen him in years and you're just a little excited. I mean, there's no possible way you can still like him after all this time, can there?' Mimi spoke to herself. She shook her head a little to get all the thoughts out of it.  
  
'Play it cool, Matt.' "Of course. But you've changed obviously. Biking? That's not your style." Matt said, trying to take the quiver away from his voice. He gave up when he found out that it was useless. Mimi giggled a little. Then replied.  
  
"Yea. Biking and rollerblading is really popular in America. And plus, it keeps my diet balanced."   
  
"So how did you find her, Sora?" Kari asked.   
  
"Well, I was stopping for a cup of coffee because it was still early, and I saw her sitting there, eating a salad. So we started talking and I decided to bring her here to surprise you guys." Sora explained.  
  
"You've got to tell me all about America, Mimi." Kari said excitedly. "How long are you staying?"  
  
"Well, for all I know, I might be coming to school here again since our parents' are concentrating their business in Japan again. But I might leave before school starts. They don't think it's safe for me to live alone in the house or something." Mimi paused for a second and looked down at her watch. "Oh, it's getting late and my parents don't know that I'm here so if I don't go back, they're gonna send the national search party to look for me. See you all later!" Without another word, Mimi rode out of sight.   
  
"Wow, Mimi's changed so much. She's not complained a word about all that pedaling." Tai said as he watched Mimi disappear.  
  
"Yeah." Sora looked down at her watch. "Wow. It is getting late. We better get home before any of our parents go psycho," she suggested as she turned to walk off. She waved goodbye without looking back and headed for her mother's floral shop. One by one, the former digidestined departed.  
  
At the floral shop *@----}----{----@*  
  
When Sora arrived at her mother's floral shop, Mrs. Takenouchi was just closing up. She locked the door and bent down to pick up a basket of flowers that needed to be replanted. She wore a worried look on her face and kept her head down. Sora knew that something was wrong. She slowed down her pace and walked up to her mother, who didn't seem to notice her until she said something.  
  
"Let me help you with that, mom." Mrs. Takenouchi looked up to find her daughter taking one handle of the basket and she smiled. She returned her gaze back onto the floor and they walked on either side of the basket. It was pretty heavy and Sora wondered how her mom could carry it all by herself. They remained silent the whole way and the tenseness was killing Sora.   
  
When they finally reached their apartment, they set the flowers on the kitchen counter and Mrs. Takenouchi took out the new pots. The mother-daughter pair went to work as soon as they got everything ready. In the middle of replanting a rose, Sora spoke up and broke the silence. "What's wrong, mom?"   
  
Mrs. Takenouchi looked up and hesitated for a moment. Finally, she settled on the answer. "It's nothing really, nothing to worry about, Sora. Just don't think about it." Then her gaze turned back to the pot in her hands.  
  
"Don't lie, mom. I can tell. Now tell me the truth. I know something's gone terribly wrong. I don't care, I want... I need to know." Sora insisted.  
  
Mrs. Takenouchi stared Sora straight in the eye and decided to tell the truth. "Sora... honey... It's the bills. We can't afford them anymore. I mean, the landlord of the floral shop is constantly bugging me about the money. And the landlord for the apartment has also been on my case. I'll have to sell the shop if I want to pay the rent for the apartment. But if I sell the shop, we'll have no profits what so ever. Business is pretty bad and we just can't keep up. If I sell the store and manage to pay the rent for the apartment, then what about the next few months? If this keeps up, then we'll be on the streets in no time. I'm tired, physically and emotionally. I don't know what I'm going to do, Sora."   
  
Then, she couldn't keep it in anymore and she broke down into sobs. Her hands shook and she let go of the pot and covered her face instead. Teardrops raced down her face as Sora rushed over to comfort her by wrapping an arm around her. She gently patted her crying mother's back and whispered to her that everything will be all right, even though she's shaking inside also. Mrs. Takenouchi buried her face into her daughter's shoulder and Sora rested her chin on her mother's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while.  
  
Sora managed to keep all her fear and tears in until she finished all the replanting, put her mother to bed, and crept up to her room. She buried her face in the pillow and turned it damp with tears. Her face was red from crying. She cried as softly as possible so she won't wake her mother up. But she's shivering with fear. She's cold on this hot summer day. She pulled her shits up to her shoulders and cuddled beneath it, trying to keep warm. She kept crying and crying the whole time. 'What are we going to do?' She asked herself, not expecting an answer. 'Tai will never ever like me if I end up homeless!"  
  
Mimi's house *@----}----{----@*  
(AN: This is happening at the same time when Sora and her mom walked back. So this is when Mimi first arrives. Don't get confused.)  
  
"I'm home!" Mimi said in a loud voice. Her parents came down the spiral staircase on the side as Mimi took her shoes off and got ready to go to her room. "Hi mom, dad. I'm going up to my room now, see you at dinner!" She said as she began to walk up the staircase that led to her room.  
  
"Hold on, honey, we need to talk to you about something." Mr. Tachikawa said and Mimi began to walk back down the stairs. They led her to the living room and they sat down on the sofa.  
  
"Well?" Mimi asked impatiently as she folded her hands. She couldn't wait to write in her diary about today.   
  
"Mimi, dear. I know that it's hard, but... we can't stay here. We're moving to England in two days. It's for business. And we know how much you want to stay here with you friends, but there's no other way. I'm sure you'll make new friends at England. Remember how popular you were in America? We would let you stay here, but there'll be no one to look after you. I'm sorry, Mimi. Why don't you start packing tomorrow?" Mr. Tachikawa said quickly.  
  
"You... you can't be serious..." Mimi said in an unbelievably stern tone. She looked at her parents eyes and hoped greatly that they'd say they're just joking. But it never came. She slumped back into the couch and sat there gazing at the distance. Her mouth hung open and her eyes widened. She broke a cold sweat and then she burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.  
  
"The only reason I was popular was because they liked how I dressed and they liked how I looked. But they don't like me for me! I'd hardly call them my friends. Now that I've reunited with my best friends in the world, you decide that you can just call me away? They know me better than anyone else. I just can't bear to lose them again." Her voice broke and she cried a little louder than before.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mimi, honey. But it's all for the good of the..."  
  
"Business! I know! It's always because of the business. Is the business so important that you don't even care about my happiness?" Mimi shouted out. A few servants peeked in through the door, but then returned to their work.  
  
"Now don't be silly. Um..." Mrs. Tachikawa paused and looked at her husband for help. Not receiving any, she continued. "We'll make you a deal. If you can find an adult to look after you and stay in this house, then it'll be no problem if you want to stay."   
  
"And where am I supposed to find an adult to stay here? And in less than two days?! This is not fair!" Mimi yelled as she got up and ran up to her room. Her mother got up to follow, but was stopped by her father. He told her that Mimi needed some time to cool off.  
  
Mimi didn't come down for dinner and a servant brought a tray of food up to her bedroom door. It wasn't touched at all the whole time and her parents became very worried but decided to give her until the morning.  
  
Mimi's room *@----}----{----@*  
  
Mimi laid down on her back on her bed. She stared at her white ceiling and images appeared on the ceiling like movies. But she saw everything so clearly. When she had to leave Palmon, when she left the digidestined four or five years ago for America. She thought about their reunion today. Everyone's so happy and excited. But wait til they hear about this.  
  
Memories of her and all the digidestined came back. Sora, Tai, T.K., Kari, Joe, Izzy, Matt... Matt. 'I'll have to miss you all over again, Matt.' She took out a gold pocket watch which she'd plan to give him the day she broke the news to him that she was going to America. But she never got the guts to give it to him or tell him how she felt. She touched the words carved inside it:   
  
To Yama-chan,   
From Mimi with love always.  
  
'I was so stupid.' She opened the watch and a melody played. She used advanced technology to combine her harmonica music which she secretly recorded with her harp music. Every year, she'd have a check up to make sure nothing is wrong. 'What was the point anyway? I'll never have the guts to tell him.' She thought as she gripped onto the gold necklace that he gave her for her birthday a long time ago. It had an angel playing a harp. She's started playing it since they got back from the digiworld. He'd said that he looked like an angel when at her first performance when the spotlight's on her. He was really sweet and nice. "How can I ever live without you, Matt? I hope you can deal with this better than I." she whispered to herself as more tears came racing down. 'I'm sure he will. He did last time...'  



	2. A Love More Precious Than Gold 2

A Love More Precious Than Gold: Part 2  
  
Matt's balcony *@----}----{----@*  
  
'Wow. Mimi's changed so much. But I can tell that her personality hasn't changed. Still so caring, understanding, sweet, innocent, and perfect.' Matt thought as he sat staring at stars from his balcony. "Matt, what are you thinking?" He said as he snapped himself back to reality. "I mean, she'll never like you. You saw her! She's turned so beautiful, like a flower in bloom. And you, Matt? You nothing but an ugly duckling. Except you'll never turn into a swan." A tear appeared at the corner of his eye, but he wiped it away before it could fall. "I just don't want to lose you again, Mimi. I just don't want to part with you again." He whispered as he leaned back and looked at the North Star.  
  
"Who are you talking to, Matt?" A voice came from inside. Matt spun around and saw T.K. standing at the doorway. He began to walk towards him and Matt turned his gaze back to the stars.  
  
"No one, T.K. Why are you out here at this hour?" Matt asked. He sniffed a little and avoided his brother's gaze.  
  
"I'm not a little kid anymore. And another thing, have you been crying, Matt?" T.K. asked. 'Watch him say no. He never tells me anything anymore,' T.K. thought.  
  
Matt wiped the last traces of tears off his face and replied. "No! I wasn't crying, T.K." 'He'll never understand even if I tell him anyway.'  
  
'See? What did I tell you?' T.K. sat down in a chair across from Matt. He, too, began staring at the stars. They've been doing this ever since they're little. They always used to think that each of them held something special. But the beliefs are fading as they grow up.   
  
"You know, Matt. I'm not a little kid anymore as I said before. I know that you're thinking about Mimi. I'm not that dumb. And plus, you're my brother. You might think that I don't understand. But I do! How do you think I feel about Kari?" Then T.K. covered his mouth. He knew he'd said that wrong thing. Only he knew that he still likes Kari. Everyone else thinks that they're enemies now that they broke up. But the truth is, T.K. still can't get over her. He just pretends to not like her for his pride. He didn't want to be the one who gives in and apologizes.  
  
Matt looked at T.K. and smiled. "Obviously I underestimated you. I guess you do understand." Matt sighs and looks down at his glass of water. "It's just that I think that Mimi's too good for me and... I think that I'll only be a burden to her. I mean, it's like Beauty and the Beast, except I'll never turn into a prince." 'There I said it. Well, it's better than talking to myself.' Matt thought.  
  
'So that's why he's so down.' "Nonsense. You're my big brother and you're better than any prince in the whole world. Mimi would be happy to go out with you. I think that you should just ask her." T.K. encouraged Matt. He took a sip from his Root Beer and set it onto the round table between them.  
  
"What's the point?" Matt asked. You could hear the hurt in his voice as it broke. Memories brought hot tears down his face again. Except this time he didn't bother to wipe them away.  
  
"What do you mean, what's the point? The point is so that you and Mimi can FINALLY go out with each other and live happily ever after. What do you think?" T.K. almost yelled.  
  
"Do you really believe in living happily ever after? I mean, we both know that it only happens in fairy tales. And this is real. And plus, even if I did get the courage to ask her, she'd probably just go away again. I mean, you heard her. She said she'd go away sooner or later. It'll just make it hurt more than already will. It'll be just like last time." Matt looked up at the full moon and saw Mimi's face instead of the moon. That it was Mimi brightening the darkness. Then he shook it out of his mind and saw the moon again. More memories came back. More painful memories...  
  
Flashback *@----}----{----@*  
  
Matt's waiting impatiently for the girl of his dreams by the water fountain in the middle of the park. Finally, he caught a glimpse of her, walking drearily towards him. 'Great. Something is wrong. This is going to make this harder than it already is.' He thought as he went up to her. "Hey, Mimi." Mimi looked up at him for a few seconds, then collapsed into his opened arms, crying. He was speechless and he didn't know what to do. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and kept saying to himself, 'please don't slap me, please don't slap me.' To his surprise, she cuddled into a more comfortable position.  
  
When she finally took her face out of his chest, her mascara was messed up from her crying and her eyes were practically overflowed with tears. "Wha... What's wrong, Mimi?" He hid his present to her deeper into his pocket. 'Maybe I'll save it for later. But this is definitely not a good time.'  
  
"Everything is wrong, Matt! Everything!" She screamed. When she calmed down. "My... my parents wants to move our whole family to New York City in America! Do you know what that means? It means I may not ever be able to see any of you anymore! I can't do that! I can't leave any of you! I can't leave you!" She said. She buried her face onto his shoulder and began crying again.   
  
Matt was too shocked himself. 'How will I ever live without you, Mimi? You can't leave! But I can't be so selfish either. What am I supposed to do? Give me a sign, somebody!' He snapped back to reality when they found each other staring into each others' eyes. He quickly turned away. 'I... I can't burden you, Mimi. I'm sorry...'   
  
"Everything will turn out right. You'll never lose us and we'll never lose you. You'll always be here." He said as he pointed to where his heart was. "Now you don't have to worry about a thing. Don't you remember? Destiny will work everything out in the end. We don't have to worry about a thing..." Matt tried to comfort her. But he had tears in his eyes as well. But he managed to hold them back until she left him alone. It seemed like she ran out of his grasp forever...  
  
End flashback *@----}----{----@*  
  
Matt took something out of his back pocket. It was a little transparent case which held a golden angel brooch. The angel was playing a harp. "You were going to give that to Mimi, weren't you?" T.K. asked.  
  
"Who else will I give it to? But I don't know anymore. I think that I may as well just let it go. It'll never work. I mean, just think. A rebel and a princess. I'm sure her parents will be nice about it and all, but I can ruin her future. And I don't want to do anything to hurt her." Matt said in almost a whisper.  
  
"Yea, I know what you mean, big bro." T.K. agreed. "You just like the person so much you'd rather sacrifice your all just to make her happy and safe."  
  
"How do you know all this stuff, T.K.? When I was your age, I was as lost as a little lamb about this. Wait a minute. Does this have anything to do with Kari?" Matt asked. Then he remembered that T.K. mentioned something about Kari before.  
  
"Yeah, genius. It's all about Kari. Why do you think we started this fight anyway? You see, there's this kid who's father owns a really powerful company. And he's been asking Kari out ever since. But Kari always refuses him because of me. But if she'd go out with him, I'm sure she'd have a very bright future. I don't want to drag her behind.  
  
"So one day I told her that we're allowed to see other people. I hoped that she got the hint. But I think she took it the wrong way and thought that I fell in love with someone else. So the next day, when I went to apologize, she'd already went out with him. And she seemed rather happy. I knew it'd be for the better... And the fight just grew bigger and bigger. And now it's like this." T.K. ended his story with a long, depressed sigh.  
  
"Wow. T.K., I never knew so much. You should've told me. But the thing is. It doesn't matter who it is. If you love somebody, you love somebody. You can't run away or hide from it. If it's meant to be, you can't stop it. And plus, do you think it's money and power that Kari wants?" Matt told his theory.  
  
"Yamato Ishida. Everyone has a right to say that to me but you. Now think about it." T.K. said as he exited the balcony and back into his room. He left Matt there alone to think.  
  
'Go for it, Matt, what have you got to lose?' A side of him said. But the other side disagree, as always. 'Let's see, Matt. Your heart, your dignity, everything. Don't risk it. She isn't worth it.' 'Don't listen to him, he doesn't know anything. And plus, are you stupid enough to listen to him?' Suddenly a cold wind blew and tugged at Matt's hair and clothes. It seemed to have woke him up. Determined what he'll do, he went back into his room and opened up his book and began reading.  
  
Tai's apartment garden *@----}----{----@*  
  
Tai picked a red rose from the garden and began to peel off it's petals. "I love her, I love her not. I love her, I love her not." Finally he gave up and threw what was left of the rose onto the pavement. "I am so pathetic! I can't even make up my own mind. I don't even know if I have a crush on somebody. I mean, I can save a digiworld, but I can't tell what's in my own heart. How stupid can someone be?" Tai asked himself.  
  
"Sora... why are you always on my mind?" he whispered. Just then, he saw car lights flashing in from behind the gate of their apartment. Then, he saw a red convertible pull up into the driveway and his sister stepped out of it. With her was another guy who's about 17. (AN: Even though I don't think so. If it's too young an age to drive, I'm sorry. But I think that Kari deserves better than an 18 year old guy!) He gave her a kiss on a cheek that she quickly rubbed off after he was gone. She saw her brother in the garden and walked up to him.  
  
"You didn't have to stay up for me, you know. I am a big girl now. I can go on dates without a nervous brother waiting for me at home." Kari said when she reached him.  
  
Tai looked up, then kicked the rose aside into the bushes. "I wasn't waiting up for you, I was taking a walk, thinking." He looked up and saw a million stars glistening in the night sky.  
  
"Yea, sure. And what exactly are you thinking about? Me?" Kari questioned. She still assumed that he was just waiting to spy on her and her date.  
  
"A person. And no, it's not you. You're not always center of attention you know." Tai replied. 'Now would you leave me alone and let me think?' He began to walk towards the water fountain. Kari stayed right behind him. She was determined to know what's wrong with her brother.  
  
"I find that hard to believe. Well, is it a girl?" Kari asked. "Because if it is, you should tell me. After all, I am a girl, I know about this stuff that you guys are clueless about."  
  
"Yea, it's a girl." He looked at her sister a bit, then turned his gaze back forward. "It's just that I don't know if I have a crush on her or not. I mean, I've never really like liked anyone before. So how do I know that I like her?" When he finished, he leaned forward and took a drink from the water fountain.  
  
"It's Sora, right?" Tai spitted his water right out and began to choke. He coughed like crazy but finally got better when Kari patted his back. "I'll... um... take that as a yes."  
  
"How'd you know?!" Tai yelled. "I know it's not a lucky guess, I can tell."  
  
"It's a little obvious. I mean, think about it. We digidestined are all best friends. Other than us, your next choice would be sports. So it'll have to be one of the digidestined. It can't be me. Everyone knows that Matt and Mimi have a crush on each other. So Sora's the only one left. And you just said that it's a girl, so you're not gay. At least I hope that you're not..." Kari explained.  
  
"NO I'm not gay! And whatever happened to I'll help?" Tai exclaimed as they began to walk back up the stairs to their apartment.  
  
"Okay, okay. Patience. Do you have butterflies in your stomach when you're near her? Or do you think about her non stop when she's not around?" Kari questioned.  
  
Tai hesitated for a while. 'Should I really tell her? I mean, maybe she'll tell T.K. and T.K. will tell Matt and Matt will tell everyone else just to embarrass me! Hold on, she broke up with T.K. But still, should I tell her?' "Um... yes to both." 'May as well.' He thought.  
  
"Well then 99.99% says that you have a major crush on her. So are you going to tell her?" Kari asked. She likes Sora a lot and wouldn't exactly mind her brother going out with her. Well, not like she has a choice.   
  
"Hold on. We're going a little bit too fast. And plus, I'm a guy, how do you know all this stuff about guys?" Tai asked suspiciously. He really wanted to get off the subject about him and Sora. It is quite a surprise to him. It's not a bad one, but he still didn't want to talk to his little sister about it.  
  
"Simple. Because T - " Kari quickly covered her mouth when she realized that she said something that no one knows.  
  
"Because T.K. used to tell you this stuff, right? And you know that he really likes you. Well, let's see, Kari. You're going out with another guy and you still remember all this about T.K.? Every word? Isn't that a bit wrong?" Tai questioned.  
  
"No... where did you get that from," Kari stuttered as she looked away.  
  
"Well, from T.V. mostly. And plus, after all, I am a guy. I know all this stuff that you girls are clueless about," Tai mocked Kari which made her blush deeper than she already did. "You still like T.K., don't you?"  
  
"Why... why are we talking about him? We're talking about you and Sora, remember?"   
  
"Well, my problems are solved since now I know that I like Sora. So your problems are next. So you do still like T.K., right?" Tai asked in a brotherly voice. (AN: for those who don't have older brothers, this kind of brotherly voice does get annoying sometimes... usually... okay, all the time.)  
  
'Should I tell him? I mean, this is girly stuff. Maybe I'll be better off calling Mimi or something. But he is my big brother and he told me about the Sora business.' "Yea, I guess I still do." Kari said after minutes of hesitation.  
  
"Well then, why don't you tell him that instead of pretending to hate him so much?" Tai asked.  
  
"Are you serious? I am not about to be the one who apologizes when it's all his fault. Look, you want to know what happened? I'll tell you what happened. One day, out of the blue, T.K. just came up to me and said that we should be allowed to see other people. So obviously, he has someone else in mind. I guess I'm just not good enough for him. So I went out with someone else instead, you happy?" Kari fumed. Teardrops began to form at the corners of her eyes and were about to spill out anytime.   
  
"Look, I'm sorry, Kari. I didn't mean to get you all upset." Tai said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Well, I know that he hasn't gone out with anyone yet since neither Matt nor T.K. told me about it. So I'm sure he meant that you're free to see other people. Well, maybe this fight is completely useless."  
  
"Yeah, maybe." Kari said softly. Then she drearily dragged herself back into her room.   
  
"Well, I guess I may as well tell you Sora. I mean, what have I got to lose?" Tai asked himself as he slowly closed the door to his bedroom.   
  



	3. A Love More Precious Than Gold 3

A Love More Precious Than Gold: Part 3  
  
Mimi/Sora's bedrooms *@----}----{----@*  
(AN: I know it's confusing. But this is a phone conversation. So chill out.)  
  
'I need to talk to someone about this.' Sora thought. She picked up the phone but then hung up because she couldn't think of whom to call. Then, a sudden thought struck her and before she knew it, she was dialing Mimi's number.  
  
The phone in Mimi's room rang and Mimi stared at it for a while. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to anyone right now. 'It'd just make it harder to leave.' She thought. But then another side of her fought. 'But it's always better to talk to someone about it.' With a few minutes a hesitation, she picked up the phone. "Hello? This is Mimi Tachikawa speaking." She answered in a formal style. She tried to hide the evidence of her crying in case it was someone she didn't want to speak to.  
  
Sora was just about to hang up when she heard Mimi's voice in the phone. 'Thank God!' She sniffed a little but no words could come out. 'What am I supposed to say? That I'm losing my apartment and I'm gonna be on the streets very soon?' She let out a few whimpers and cries at the thought of her and her mother begging for money.  
  
Mimi was losing her patience. But then she heard the cries. 'No doubt that this person is in distress, just like me' she thought. Then she began to recognize the voice. "Hello? Sora? Is that you?" She held the phone closer to her to make sure. 'It's Sora all right. I wonder what's wrong. Maybe it's about Tai or something.'  
  
"Yea, Mimi?" Sora said in a quivered voice. "I don't know what to do anymore."  
  
'This is definitely serious,' Mimi thought. "Wha... what's wrong?" 'Well someone else might have a bigger problem than me at least. She's my best friend. I've got to see what I can do.'  
  
"My... my mom and I... we might be forced out onto the streets!" Then Sora told Mimi about her conversation with her mom. When she finished, she'd began crying hysterically again. "I'm too scared. I... don't know what is going to happen to us if we don't think of something fast. And I mean, fast! Or I don't know what'll become of us. Tai won't even want to be my friend anymore."  
  
"Oh my..." Mimi was left speechless. 'At least I have a home. I should be grateful.' "Well then I guess I shouldn't add my problems to your burden." Mimi said with a little sniff.  
  
"Oh well, what the heck. What's wrong, Mimi?" Sora said drearily. 'She been so patient with me the whole time. I should listen to her.'  
  
"Well, my parents want to send me to England in two days. Unless..." Just then, she thought of something. 'What if Sora's mom moved in. I mean, it'll solve the whole problem! Then Sora and I would be even closer!' "I'll call you back!" Mimi almost screamed.  
  
"You have to go back unless you call me back?" But it was too late. She heard a click and she was left puzzled. She hung up the phone and laid back down onto her bed. She stared at her ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep.  
  
Sora's house *@----}----{----@*  
  
Sora woke up to her doorbell the next morning. Getting out of bed, she fixed the sheet a little and yelled, "one minute!" Afterwards, she went to brush her teeth and clean up. She changed into a gray T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She found a note from her mother in the kitchen that said she'd already left for work.   
  
Sora opened the door to find an extremely happy Mimi standing at the door. 'I thought she was really sad last night.' "Morning, Mimi." Sora said in a dreary voice.  
  
"Morning, Sora. Um... Mind if I come in?" Mimi said while peeking inside.   
  
"Oh, sorry, yea, sure. Come in." Sora said, gesturing her to go in. Mimi stepped inside and headed for the living room while Sora closed and locked the door. She went into the living room and found that Mimi already seated herself. "Do you want anything to drink? Soda? Tea? Coffee?" Sora offered.  
  
"A coffee would be nice," Mimi replied.   
  
"Good, because that was what I was going to make anyway. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Sora came out of the kitchen with two cups of fresh brewed coffee. "So why are you here?"  
  
"Well, I have the best news! You know how you told me about your problem last night?" Mimi asked as she leaned forward towards Sora. Sora could see the sparkles dancing around in her eyes.  
  
"Well, yea but..."  
  
"You can move in with me!" Mimi yelped excitedly, barely giving Sora time to think.   
  
"What? But..." Sora said, still stunned and confused.  
  
"Come on, Sora. It's a win-win situation. It's the only way you won't end up on the streets and I won't have to move. Please? I asked my parents already last night and they said that it was fine and that it'd be even better if you moved in too. This is the only way out, Sora." Mimi quickly said. Inside, she was hoping that Sora wouldn't refuse.  
  
"Wow. That's great, Mimi! But we'll have to ask my mom first." Sora said.  
  
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Mimi said. Without another word, she pulled Sora out of the chair and dragged her down to her mother's shop.  
  
The Floral Shop *@----}----{----@*  
  
Mrs. Takenouchi sat down on her stool waiting for the next customer. Just then, her daughter and her daughter's friend ran up to her. They were both completely out of breath when they reached her and stopped to catch their breaths. "What's wrong, girls?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing is WRONG, mom! We're going to be all right!" Sora said as she threw her mother a hug. She received the hug but was still confused.  
  
"Of course we're going to be all right, Sora. Are you sure you're okay?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked Sora as she felt her forehead with the back of her hand. Sora took it and continued.  
  
"Mimi said that we can stay at her place." Then Sora began to explain everything to her mom. When she finished, a moment of silence followed.  
  
"Will we be a bother, Mimi?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked as she turned towards Mimi.  
  
"Of course not. You'll be doing me a favor if you accept the offer!" Mimi said excitedly. Her heart was praying to God that she'd say yes.  
  
Tears of happiness spilled our of Mrs. Takenouchi's eyes as she hugged both of the girls. When they broke apart, she thanked Mimi repeatedly and visited her parents. They liked her very much and decided that she would be responsible enough to take care of Mimi. Also, Sora would be a nice friend to talk to.  
  
At the park *@----}----{----@*  
  
"Wow, tomorrow, I move in with you. Isn't it great? We can do so much stuff together now," Sora exclaimed.  
  
"I know! Oh no. We better hurry up or they'll be cranky again. I mean, we are already thirty minutes late," Mimi said as she began to pedal faster and harder. Sora followed closely behind her and realized that biking wasn't really her thing.   
  
When they finally got to the bench where they usually meet, a few of them were already there. Well, all except Tai was there. They began talking about all kinds of stuff while they sat and wait for about another fifteen minutes. Then Tai showed up, running the fastest he ever did.   
  
"I... am so so... sorry. I had a game to get to and I forgot about this," Tai said between gasps for air.  
  
"It's okay, we only arrived about fifteen minutes or so too. So you didn't look that bad," Sora explained.  
  
"So, you're moving in with Mimi tomorrow, right?" Kari asked. The girls turned and smiled at each other. Then they nodded their heads at the same time. It's like the kind of twin thing.  
  
"Yea. I'm so excited. You know..." Mimi was cut off by a middle aged woman with long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. She seemed really scared and she was breaking a cold sweat.  
  
"Have any of you seen my son?" She asked as she held up a picture of a boy about five years old with reddish brown, short, curly hair and eyes that match the hair color.   
  
Mimi looked back at the group. All of them shook their heads. She turned back to the lady and said, "No... But I'll gladly help you look. What's his name?"  
  
"Bobby. Thank you so much. You're so nice," the lady complimented and she headed off to look for her son.   
  
'Okay, Matt. This is your chance.' "I'll uh... come with you, Mimi." Matt said as he got up from the bench. Mimi looked back and she nodded with a smile. Then they walked off into another area of the park.  
  
"I will go too," Sora insisted.  
  
"I'll go with you Sora. Wait up." He said as he got onto his feet and began running towards the direction in which Sora had gone.   
  
"Why don't you two go," Izzy suggested to T.K. and Kari.  
  
"Yea, Izzy and I will stay here in case the boy turns up," Joe said. "Now go."  
  
"But..." Kari began to complain. She was cut off when T.K. grabbed her hand and they began to run away from Joe and Izzy. When they finally got to another spot, Kari wiggled out of T.K.'s grip. "What was that?" She yelled.  
  
"You know that they'll never give up. So I thought maybe we might as well get away from their "supervision" and then split up. You can do whatever you want, but I want to help find that little boy." T.K. said as he began to turn and walk the other way.  
  
"Hold on," Kari said. T.K. spun around and looked at Kari. She looked away and he began to turn around again. "I'll come with you. The sun is setting. Who knows what kind of whackos there are out there." She said with a smile. T.K. smiled at her and held out his hand. She gladly took it and they began walking towards the sunset.  
  
Sora and Tai *@----}----{----@*  
  
"Do you think any of us will find the little boy, Tai?" Sora asked Tai, who's been shouting Bobby the whole time. He stopped and turned his head to face Sora.  
  
"Of course. With all of us we saved the world. Now all we have to do is find a little kid," Tai replied confidently. His head turned back to the road and began to yell Bobby again.  
  
"Yea. I hope it turns out as good as I hope," Sora murmured as she looked up to stare at his face.  
  
Tai turned his attention to Sora again. "What do you hope?" Tai asked curiously. Sora turned her face back to the ground and blushed. 'What did I say?' Tai thought, confused. 'Oh well, she doesn't seem mad. So I guess I should just drop it and change the subject.'   
  
He looked back up and looked for a subject to talk about. This tenseness was killing him. "Um... look! The sun is setting and it's turning the sky pink!" He exclaimed as he pointed his index finger towards the setting sun. "Hey, pink! That's Mimi's favorite color. I wonder if she's watching this," he continued. Then for no reason at all, the conversation he had with Kari a few nights back popped to mind. 'Come on, Tai. Be brave. Just ask her! I mean, what have you got to lose?'  
  
Sora let out a troubled sigh. 'So I guess Mimi's on his mind. I should've known that he wouldn't like me anyway. His target is Mimi...' She sighed again.  
  
"What's wrong, Sora?" Tai asked. 'She can't be upset already. I mean, I didn't even ask her yet!'  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied drearily. 'Oh, nothing. It's just that I just found out that the guy of my dreams has a crush on my best friend. Nothing much, not to you anyway.'  
  
'Just ask her! Who cares if she says no?!' One side of Tai thought. 'I care!' the other side argued. 'Just do it!' Tai took a deep breath and he closed his eyes. He stopped walking and began to inhale and exhale steadily. Sora stopped and looked back at him.  
  
'He's probably just daydreaming about Mimi again,' she thought as she looked down again. They stood there for a few minutes. Tai with his eyes closed and thinking of how he could ask her. Sora staring at the floor thinking how much Mimi is better than her. (AN: What ever happened to finding that little boy, you two?)   
  
Then, Tai took one last deep breath. Then he opened his eyes and walked up to Sora. Hearing his footsteps, Sora also looked up and stared at Tai. 'Come on, just say it, Tai. You prepared a whole speech, remember?' a voice inside his head told him. Then, he told the voice, 'No...' He heard the voice sigh desperately. 'Then just say what you think. I mean, don't spoil this chance.' "Okay, you can do this." Tai whispered outloud accidently.  
  
"Do what?" Sora asked. 'He's acting kind of weird today...'  
  
"Um... Sora... I was wondering if..." Tai blurted out. 'Come on, just a little more.' He encouraged himself.  
  
"You were wondering if..." Sora asked looking into his brown eyes.   
  
Tai couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed her shoulders with two hands and pulled her in. His face slowly leaned towards hers and she moved her face up. It was a reaction to Sora, like she was mesmerized. Before closing their eyes, they were lost in them for a few seconds. Then, their lips gently met and they shapes fitted perfectly. Sora slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They stayed in that comfortable position for a while. Everything around them was silent. The road was clear and the sun was sinking into the horizon. Their hearts were melting away.  
  
When they broke apart, still in each other's arms, they pressed their foreheads against each others and stared into each others eyes, smiling. Then, after a couple of minutes, Tai opened his mouth to say something. But he was cut off when Sora gave him a kiss instead.   
  
When they broke apart, he held her hands and stared down at them. Then, he looked at her and said, "I'll take that as a yes." She giggled, let go of one of his hands, and turned towards the way they came from.   
  
"Let's go, they probably found Bobby already," she said and they walked back, except this time hand in hand.  
  
Mimi and Matt *@----}----{----@*  
  
They screamed out from the top of their lungs in unison. "Bobby! Bobby! Where are you?!"  
  
"Phew. This is something that my singing coach from America would totally disagree with," she giggled a bit at the thought of her strict female instructor yelling. "It's fun to break the rule again."  
  
"I say we take a break," Matt suggested. Then he spotted a bench and he led Mimi over there and sat down. When they settled down, they just stared forward for a second. Then Mimi got up. Matt began to get up and follow, but Mimi gently pushed him back down onto the bench.  
  
"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said, and she began to walk and disappear around the corner. Matt was staring at her the whole time he could see her from his seat.  
  
'Matt! You decided that you're going to ask her and you're going to ask her now!' He thought. Just then, he saw her walking back with two bottles in her hands. She ran up to him and sat down beside him. He could feel his heart beating faster the closer she got.  
  
She handed him a drink and she opened her bottle and began drinking from it. He did the same and tasted it. It felt good against his throbbing throat. It helped him revive from all that screaming. "This is good, what is it?" he asked.  
  
Mimi giggled a little. "You can read, can't you? Try looking at the bottle," she teased. Matt blushed a little and did as she said.  
  
"Honey-lemon tea. This is pretty good stuff. I didn't think that tea is popular in America," Matt said as he read the words from the bottle.  
  
"Not as popular as they are here in Japan. But I drink this everyday after my singing lessons. It sooths your throat," Mimi explained.   
  
"Don't you get tired of it? Everyday?" Matt asked.  
  
"Of course! But coach told me that it's good for me. I'm sure she knows what's best for me." Mimi replied.  
  
"So, do you still play the harp? You were pretty good at it," Matt said, trying to get off the serious subject.  
  
"Of course. Sometimes I sing along with it. I've heard that you play the guitar now and you've got a band. I heard that you guys are pretty good and popular," Mimi said as she beamed a smile at him.   
  
"Yea, we're all right," Matt said as he blushed. He began to change the subject because his band was a sensitive subject. "Look, the sun is setting. Isn't the view so breathtaking?" He asked as he turned towards the sunset. 'But nothing as breathtaking as you, Mimi' he thought. He still couldn't get the courage to ask her yet. 'If only you can lend me your crest, Tai.'  
  
"Most guys don't like thinking about stuff like this. You're one of the few." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder and admired the sunset in front of them. 'Yea, not most guys are as perfect and romantic as you, Matt.'  
  
She began to rub something at the end of her gold chain. Matt gently took her hand away and it revealed a gold angel playing a harp. She took her head of his shoulder so she could see his face. "You still have this?" he asked as he stared at her. He still had the angel in his hand. They turned sideways a little to face each other.  
  
"Of course, you gave this to me for my birthday a few years back. I wear it almost everyday," she replied as she took off the neckless. She placed it in his hands to examine, but his eyes locked on her delicate features. She blushed and looked away as she said, "it's really beautiful. And plus, it reminds me of you."  
  
'Does it mean that she likes me??? Oh my gosh, maybe there's hope afterall. Ask her now, Matt! Don't spoil the moment.' Matt reached in his pocket and took out a small, flat, square wrapped gift. "Then I think you might like this," he said as he handed her the gift.  
  
"You didn't have to..." Mimi said as she unwrapped the gift. She gasped and then covered her mouth with one hand as she saw the gift sitting still on her lap. It was a matching brooch for her necklace.  
  
"I... I wanted to give this to you the day you told me that you're moving to America. But when I found out, I didn't want to give you this to drag you behind. It would've been much harder to move on." Matt said. "I've kept it hoping that one day you'll come back and when I give it to you, you'll be here to stay. I guess my hopes came true, thanks to you."  
  
Mimi put it on and admire it as both the brooch and the necklace shined right next to each other from the shining sun. Then she remembered something. She reached inside her handbag and took out a box wrapped in golden wrapping paper. It was about the size of two hands. She held it out to him with two hands and said, "Here, this is for you. I wanted to give it to you the day I told you I was going to America. But then I never did."  
  
He stared at her for a second and then started unwrapping the gift. He gasped at the sight of the golden watch. "I really can't..."  
  
"Of course you can," Mimi said as she took the watch from his hands. "It fits you really well." She smiled as she handed it back to him. He handled it with care as if it was going to break any second. "Open it."   
  
He looked over at her and she nodded with a smile. He smiled also and opened the watch. Waves of music rushed our from it's cage and flowed gently and swiftly into Matt's ears. He stared at it in disbelief and all he managed to say was wow. Then, he felt something on the bottom side of the cover. He lifted it into the light so he could see clearly what the words said. "To Yama-chan, from Mimi with love always." He whispered. He looked over to Mimi who blushed and looked at the ground smiling to herself. 'Well, at least you got it over with, Mimi.' She thought as she brushed some of her brown hair from her face.  
  
"This is the best thing I've ever gotten, thank you," he said as he gave her a huge hug. "And I was wondering. Will... will you... go out with me? You know, like as my girlfriend?"  
  
Tears of joy spilled from Mimi's eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "I... I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to make you cry. Um..." He stuttered out as he searched all his pockets for a tissue or hankerchief. But before he could finish his search, Mimi threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She slowly nodded as a reply and Matt instantly smiled and picked her up from around her waist. They twirled around and around on the park road until both of them got dizzy.  
  
They sat admiring the stars which appeared in the dark sky. Mimi rested her head on Matt's shoulder and he rested his chin on her head. He had his arm around her shoulder and they were holding each other close. "You know, all these years I kept fixing the watch and made sure it's in mint condition. That's because I believed that as long as the watch keeps ticking, I'll still have hope of finding you one day and telling you how I feel."  
  
"And I'll guard this with my life from now on. After all, it is my forth most important possession," he said. Mimi lifted her head.  
  
"Forth only?" she asked, disappointed.  
  
"Yea," he said, staring into her troubled eyes. "My third important is you, my second most important is my love for you, and my most prized possession is your love for me. Afterall, gold I can buy, but our love is priceless." Instantly, her eyes sparkled with delight.  
  
"And this goes the same for my brooch and necklace." Feeling relieved, she laid her head back on his shoulder and relaxed.  
  
Then all of a sudden, from the bushes, they heard a muffled, silent cry. It came from the bushes and it sounded like a little boy. Mimi grasped onto Matt's shirt as they approached the bush. Then, with a quick and swift motion, Matt moved some of the leaves of the bushes and it revealed a little boy, all bound up.  
  
They took the gag off the little boy and Matt asked, "Is your name Bobby?" The little boy nodded and he began crying softly.   
  
"Well, everything's alright now, Bobby. We'll bring you to your mom, okay?" Mimi said softly yet reassuringly. He nodded as he slowly wiped the tears from his eyes. Matt picked him up and held him as they slowly walked back to Joe and Izzy. Matt held Mimi's hand in one hand and holding the little boy in the other. Anyone who didn't know them would've thought that they were a very happy family.  
  
Joe and Izzy *@----}----{----@*  
  
"How can they possibly take this long?" Izzy asked impatiently.  
  
"Don't worry. Hey, here comes Sora and Tai right now!" Joe said as he pointed towards two figures running towards them.   
  
"Hey," Sora said breathlessly. After both she and Tai caught their breaths, she continued. "Did anyone find the little boy?" Joe and Izzy looked at each other then shook their heads. Sora and Tai sat down with a sigh.  
  
"Where's my sister?" Tai asked.   
  
"She went off with T.K. Actually, T.K. kind of dragged her with him." Joe said.  
  
"Hey, you guys!" A familiar voice said. They looked towards the direction in which the voice came from. They saw Matt holding Mimi's hand and a little boy.  
  
"You guys found him!" Sora exclaimed as she got up and ran towards him. Then, from down the path, Bobby's mother ran quickly towards them.  
  
"Bobby!" She cried as she took the child from Matt's arm. She hugged him and thanked them all dearly. Then, they disappeared into the darkness as they walked down the road.  
  
"Where's my brother?" Matt asked.   
  
Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Tai interrupted. "Your brother dragged my sister away somewhere."  
  
"O. Go T.K.!" Matt cheered. Everyone looked at him, puzzled. So he told everything T.K. told him. When he finished, Tai told everyone what Kari told him...  
  



	4. A Love More Precious Than Gold 4

A Love More Precious Than Gold: Part 4(end)  
  
Kari and T.K. *@----}----{----@*  
  
"Do you think we should head back?" Kari asked. "It is dark. I'm sure one of them found Bobby already." T.K. turned his head and looked down at her. 'She looks so beautiful under the moonlight.' He thought. But then he shook the thought away from his head. 'You two broke up, Takeru! Get a grip!'  
  
"Why don't we sit down for a while, we have been walking for quite a while," T.K. suggested. They walked towards a bench and sat down  
  
Moments of silence followed and finally, Kari couldn't take it anymore. She had to know. "T.K., why did you tell me that we can see other people and then not go out with anyone? I mean, why break up with me if you aren't gonna go out with anyone else? I don't get it."  
  
T.K. chuckled bitterly. "You really want to know, Kari?" He asked as he looked at her.  
  
"No, I just asked you for fun. Yes I want to know!" She exclaimed, annoyed.  
  
T.K. stared back into the distance. "How do I say this? Well, you know that rich guy, Damen that used to always ask you out all the time and who you're going out with now?" Kari nodded. "Well, I thought that you'd be much better off with him. I mean, he can give you everything you want." He turned his gaze back into Kari's eyes. "I can't."  
  
'He did it all for me... He'd rather suffer than seeing me... How could I have been so wrong?' Kari thought to herself. Tears came rolling in but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She just stared into his sober eyes. Then, she threw her arms around him as a hug. T.K. was quite surprised, but then wrapped his arms around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "You're so wrong, Takeru. He can't give me what I want, only you and you alone can. I love you."  
  
He took her shoulders and pulled her away so he could look at her face. He smiled ear to ear to hear the one he loved so much say the words he wanted to hear. Then, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, they leaned in until their lips touch. They enjoyed every moment of pleasure as their eyes closed...  
  
Then, Kari's eyes shot open when she heard a twig snap behind T.K. Then, before she could do anything, a thick wooden stick went down on T.K.'s neck, hard. Instantly, T.K. and Kari screamed in unison as blood rushed out of the large wound. T.K. stood up and swung around to see who was the attacker...  
  
The rest of the group *@----}----{----@*  
  
"Kari!"  
  
"T.K.!" The two brothers became really tense. "We have to go find them!" They shouted as they began to run towards the direction of the scream. Everyone follows them....  
  
T.K. Kari, and the attacker *@----}----{----@*  
  
"Damen! What the hell?" Kari screamed out as she rushed over to the fallen T.K. Tears rushed down her cheek like a million strong rivers. T.K. sat up and went in front of Kari to cover her from harm. She gripped onto his shoulders as they shook fiercely.  
  
But T.K. was much too weak. Damen kicked him in the side and he immediately fell to the ground. Kari was about to throw herself at him, but Damen grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as she struggled to break free. She stretched her hand to reach T.K's outstretched hand, but Damen pulled her further away. "You're mine, you hear me, Kari? That little useless piece of garbage over there don't deserve you. If you stayed with me, we could've had it all. But you chose him over me! Well so be it. And don't even try to call for help because everyone is out searching for that little boy. What's his name again? Bobby?"  
  
Kari's eyes widened. "You mean..."  
  
"Yes, I ordered some men to kidnap him and hide him for a while. At least so they would be distracted. Now, to finish you two off..." But before he could finish his sentence, he was tackled by a brown haired boy.   
  
"Don't you ever do anything like that to my sister!" Tai yelled.   
  
"T.K., are you all right?" Matt rushed over at the almost limp body and held T.K.'s head. Matt stared at the puddle of blood that formed on his hand.  
  
"I'll call the hospital." Joe said quickly as he rushed to the nearest payphone. T.K. slowly closed his eyes at the touch of Kari's tears and her hand on his face. Everyone gathered around those two.  
  
Very soon, help came and only one other person other than Matt was allowed to be on the hospital truck. Kari rushed into the back as they carried T.K. on a stretcher. She held his hands and whimpered as tears came down one by one.  
  
At the hospital, everyone was there. They had to wait outside of the emergency room as they operated. T.K's parents were crying softly. Kari'd stopped crying after a half hour at the hospital. She just stared at nothing, her whole person spaced out. Mimi tried her best to comfort Matt as he kept blaming himself for this.   
  
Finally, after an hour of waiting, the doctor came out. "He's being transferred to recovery, but he should be fine now. Thank God you got him here on time. Right now, only four people can see him. You can speak to him, but I don't guarantee he can hear you."  
  
It was decided that T.K.'s parents, Matt, and Kari go. They went into the dark room and his mom cried over him. Matt stood behind them and Kari just stood at a far corner, staring. She didn't look happy or sad, quite emotionless.  
  
When his parents were through, they left the room and it was Matt's turn to speak. "T.K., little guy. You have to wake up. You still owe me a basketball game, remember?" The thought of their conversation nights before came back and tears came into Matt's eyes. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you. You know, I've always taken advantage of your existence. I was never thankful to have you by my side. But now, everything's changed..." Then he got up and let Kari sit down. She just stood there so Matt exited the room.  
  
Kari slowly walked over to T.K.'s bed. She stared at him as she sat down. She took his hand and their fingers intertwined. She prayed that he could hear her. "T.K., I'm so sorry to put you through all this. It's all my fault, you know that? If it haven't been for me, then you wouldn't get hurt, and everyone won't be so sad. I'm sorry..." She said as she closed her eyes and kissed his fingers.  
  
Then, she felt a hand patting her hair, she wiped her tears and looked up. Right in front of her, T.K. was rolled over and his hand brushed her cheek. Smiling, she stood up and bent down, giving her sweet Takeru a little kiss. "Takeru, even if you're the poorest man on Earth, our love will always bond us together so I'll always be by your side." She whispered.  
  
"I know now, I know now." T.K. whispered as he gave her cheek a soft peck...  
  
Matt and Mimi stared at the young couple through the large glass window. They weren't noticed at all as they stood silently. "You know what, Matt?"  
  
"What?" he asked her as he stared into her soft, sparkling eyes.   
  
"I love you." She simply said.  
  
He smiled a really wide smile. "I love you too," he said. He cupped her face with his hands. He brought her angelic face up to his and slowly leaned down. A bolt of lightning went through their bodies, but they liked the feeling. They knew that that feeling is what will be here to stay for a long time and that it's that feeling that will hold them together for as long as they live...  
  



End file.
